So Are We, Or Aren't We? Part 1...

The final answer on this is... huh?

I went to the discussion on whether or not this is a Christian nation. To my surprise, there were no real God haters or Christian haters there, or if there were, they did not make their presence known.

A lot of discussion on the intent of the founders, with some taking the stand that the original intent of the founding fathers is basically irrelevant, with others holding fast to it.

Assigning original intent is slippery. It requires seeing into minds and extracting meaning. This is hard enough to do with a live person, much less with those who lived over 2 centuries ago. Their written works apart from the Constitution give us some insight, but are not all-revealing. Whatever was their original intent, only what made it to the legal documents that govern this nation are relevant to us today, not their personal feelings and ambitions.

And yet, recognizing what the founding fathers set out to do is important. They were a spiritually varied lot, ranging from atheists, to deists, to Christians of several denominations. Their goal was to define a nation that recognized a creator God while at the same time establishing the freedom to worship in the way you saw fit, or to not worship at all. And then they threw in a dose of separation to keep government and religion from wielding undue influence over each other.

Personally on this, I see truth in both sides. Although heavily influenced by a Christian based culture and thought system, there is no way they could envision the world we live in now. So much of their thinking would be hard place to find relevance today. If you don't think so, then ask yourself what Thomas Jefferson would say about texting while driving?

So what did they leave us? A framework. One we use as the basis for our legal decisions. A framework not so bound up in the thinking of one generation that it has no relevance to the next. The "founding" fathers gave us a "foundation" on which to build a nation that provides true freedom for all. Sure we have wavered and let the pendulum swing too far at times. I think we are in one of those times now. But the system is self-correcting and, if allowed to work, will adjust back towards the center.

Our founding fathers were wise, and their legacy is the document they left us to govern ourselves by, the Constitution. This Constitution is still just as relevant today as when it was written. Considering their backgrounds, their debates, their own prejudices they wanted for the country, its amazing what we have.

I doubt we could have had it without the intervention of God.